The Girl
by kyolover16
Summary: Joe finds a girl and now the Cartwrights have to figure out what to do with her
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

_Joe Cartwright was riding his horse Cochise when he spotted a horse pulling a driver-less wagon. He rode over to the wagon and saw a family that he thought was dead. He was about to turn away and rode back towards the house and he heard a soft moan coming from the little girl. Gently he picked her up, put her in front of him on Cochise and then he rode off towards the house. When he got there his two older brothers, Adam and Hoss were putting shoes on their horses, Adam looked up and saw his youngest brother with the girl. When Joe pulled his horse in front of the house, his brothers came up to him and just stared at him and the girl that he brought. _

"_You know, you're bringing home more girls than I brought home stray animals." Hoss said as he grabbed the girl off Joe's horse._

_Joe got off his horse and sarcastically said. "That's funny. I wouldn't brought her home, except for the fact that she's injured." _

_The boy's father Ben Cartwright came out and welcomed home his son. When he saw the girls in his middle child's arms, he shook his head. "Joe, I asked you to bring strays home. But I was expecting the 4 legged animal kind, not the 2 legged ones ." Ben looked at his oldest son and said. "Go for the Doctor."_

_Joe looked at his pa and said. "Pa, I couldn't leave her out there. She was injured." Just then the girl started to shake. _

"_Hoss, put her in the guest bedroom." Ben instructed him. As Hoss went to do his father's bidding, he looked at Joe and said. " I hope that she lives long enough to meet her savior." _

_Ben looked at his son and laid his hand on his shoulder. "She looks strong, Joseph. She'll survive." Joe looked at his father. "I know. I don't want to think about what would have happened if I didn't ride in that direction." _

_Just then Doctor Martin came in the door with Adam on his heels. "Where is the patient, Ben?" he asked. _

_Ben pointed towards the guest door and said "She's in there. She's been shot." _

_Doctor Martin nodded and looked at Joe "You want to come and help with her?" _

_Joe nodded his head slowly followed the Doctor in the room. When he walked in, he looked at the girl who was lying helplessly in the bed. Joe took his hand and pushed the hair out of her eyes, but he got alarmed when he felt her forehead. _

"_Doctor, she's burning up." he said as he pulled the sheets off her. _

_Doctor Martin pushed Joe at the way and said "That bullet has to come out." So the two of them got to work and it was about five in the morning, when they got the bullet out. _

_Joe walked out of the room and joined his Pa and brothers for breakfast. _

"_How is she?" Hoss asked as he handed Joe a plate filled with food. _

_Joe looked at his family and said. "We've got the bullet out, it's going to be a while before we know for sure though."_

_The Doctor came out of the room then and said "Well, the bullet is out. The next twenty-four hours are going to be the most crucial and touch and go yet."_

_The Cartwrights thanked the Doctor, who had to lea_

_**A/N: I don't Bonanza or **_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Later that afternoon, Joe decided to go and visit their guest. As soon as he sat down next to the bed, the girl woke and gasped with pain.

Joe grabbed her hand "Take it easy. You're safe." Joe said soothingly.

The girl looked at Joe and started to get alarmed. "Who are you and where am I?"

Joe started to stroke her forehead. "My name is Joe Cartwright. You are on the Ponderosa, which belongs to my family. Do you remember what happened to you? And can you tell me about yourself."

The girl looked at the ceiling with tears started to run down her face. "Some people came up to the wagon and put a gun to my father's head, demanding money. But when my father refused, he shot him. My mother and I both screamed so he shot us as well, but not before he pulled my father off the wagon. My name is Jane, I'm 4 years old. We were heading towards Virginia City when we got stopped."

Joe picked her up from the bed held her. "It's OK. My family and I will take care of you. Do you have any family anywhere?"

Jane shook her head "I don't think so. But even if I did, I don't think anyone would want let live with them."

Joe knew what he wanted to do with Jane, but he knew that he'd to talk to his pa and brothers. So after placing Jane back in bed, he went downstairs to talk to them.

As soon as he walked downstairs, Ben knew that there was something on his youngest son's mind. "What's wrong? Is the girl, ok?"

Joe looked at his father and started to cry. "Pa, that little girl thinks that no one would want her. I want her to live with us, but I don't want to get her hopes up about having a place to live, until I talked to you."

Ben looked into his sons eyes and said. "I'll send word to Sherriff Coffee to see if she has any family anywhere around here."

Joe nodded. As much as he hated it, he knew that his father was right.

That night, they talked about the decision of adopting Jane.

"I told Joe that we'd make the final decision after I hear back from Sherriff Coffee."

Adam, and Hoss agreed. Just then they heard screaming from Jane's bedroom. Joe reached for the bedroom first and found Jane wide awake and shaking.

He walked over to the bed and began to stroke her forehead, "It's alright. You're safe. It was just a dream."

Jane climbed into Joe's lap and cried into his shirt. "I was so scared. I thought that the dream was real."

Joe rub her back soothingly, and then he laid her back down, kissed her forehead, and then he went back downstairs where he found his family alarmed. "She's fine. She just had a nightmare."

The Cartwrights went to bed, thinking about if Jane had any family left, and if they really are going to adopt her.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A few days later, Sherriff Coffee and Doctor Martin came out to the Ponderosa. Ben answered the door and allowed his friends in. Doctor Martin went straight to Jane's room, where Joe was sitting with her.

"How's our little patient today?" Doctor Martin asked as he came closer to the bed.

Jane crawled in Joe's lap, who held her, while the Doctor was examining her. "It looks good. I think that you can try and walk around for a few minutes if you like."

Jane nodded and got of Joe's lap and walked from the chair where he was sitting, to the window and back again.

"Excellent!" Joe said as he scooped Jane into his arms. "Do you want to go downstairs and meet my family?"

While Joe and Doctor Martin were upstairs talking to Jane, Ben, Hoss and Adam were talking to the Sherriff.

"She doesn't have any family?" Adam asked.

Roy shook his head. "Nope. Why?"

"Because Little Joe wants to adopt her, and I told him that we'd better check with you first." Ben said. 

Roy nodded. "Thank you for doing that. I don't see any reason why you couldn't adopt her. That is if she wants to live here."

The Doctor came down and said. "She'll be fine now. I told her that she could get out of bed today."

Ben walked his two friends to the door. "Thanks for coming out. Roy, we'll let you know if she decided to live with us or not."

Joe then came down the stairs with Jane by his side. "Jane, this is my father, Ben. And my two brothers Adam and Hoss. Hoss, why don't you and Jane play while I talk to Pa and Adam."

Hoss came over to his brother and Jane, picked her up and carried her outside. "What did Sherriff Coffee have to say about Jane?"

Adam looked at his father and then at his youngest brother. "She has no family. Do you still want to adopt her?"

Joe looked at his father and brother and said. "Yes, I do."

Ben smiled. "Adam, go and get Hoss and Jane."

As Adam did his father's bidding, Ben walked over to Joe and said. "You're sure that you know what you are getting us into right?"

Joe hugged his father and waited for Jane, Adam and Hoss to come in. 

As soon as they walked in the door, Joe went over to Jane, kneeled down in front of her and said. "Jane, I love you very much. I want you to love here with us. Will you consider it?"

Jane started to cry and hugged Joe. "Really? You want me to live with you?"

Ben, Adam, Hoss and Joe all nodded and laughed. "That is if you want to."

"Of course I do." Jane said as he jumped into Joe's lap.

Joe held her close and said "I'm glad that you are going to consider living with us."

Later that night as Jane was getting ready for bed, she heard a noise coming from outside. She walked down the stairs and went outside where she was grabbed from behind 

"Joe, help me!" Jane screamed as a hand went over her mouth.

Joe and the rest of the Cartwrights came out to see Jane being dragged away on a horse.

Joe went on his knees and said "JANE!"

Ben kneeled down next to Joe and said. "It'll be ok. Everything will be ok."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**A/N: Thanks everyone for the reviews and thank you to everyone who put this story on alert. If there is anything that you want to see in this story, please feel free to ask for it. Enjoy!**

Jane watched the house disappear in the distance rode they rode away from it. "What do you want with me?" she asked the man who she was sitting in front of.

"You are the only one that could tell the law what we look like, so we have to get rid of you." the man told her as they stopped at a cave. 

The man got off his horse, lifted Jane off and tied her hands behind her back. He pushed her into the cave and told her to sit down in the left back corner of the cave.

As she watched the men trying to decide how they were going kill her, she thought about Joe and the Cartwrights. _I hope that they'll be able to find me. _

_While Jane was thinking about them, the Cartwrights were trying to figure out how they were going rescue her._

"_Where do you think that they took her?" Joe asked as he looked at the map of the Ponderosa._

_Adam looked at his youngest brother and said "I don't know, Joe. But I promise you that I will not rest until we find her." he said as he put his gun belt on."_

_Joe looked up from the map and at Adam. "I should be the one that's going out to look for her, not you." he said as he walked over to him. _

_Adam placed his hands on Joe's shoulders and said. "We've decided that one of us should stay here, just in case she shows up."_

_Joe knew that Adam was right. "Ok. I'll stay here, but I'm not happy about it." he said as he watched his oldest brother ride away in search of Jane._

_That night, Jane was woken up by the man whose horse she was riding on when they got to the cave. "Get up. We're leaving." he said as he untied her_

_Jane got up and followed him "Where are we going?" she asked as he helped her get on his horse._

_The man looked at Jane and then at the opening of the cave. "I'm taking you back to the Ponderosa."_

_Jane couldn't believe her ears. "What? You're going to take me back?"_

"_Yes I am. I didn't want to kidnap you in the first place." he said as they started to head back to the Ponderosa._

_Adam was riding, looking around for places that they could've taken Jane, when he saw a horse coming up to him. _

_Jane saw Adam a few feet away. "ADAM!" she yelled as they got closer to him._

_The man put her down and she ran the rest of the way to Adam who picked her up. _

_Adam looked at the man and drew his gun. "What are you doing with Jane?"_

_Jane looked at Adam and the man and got in between them. "No, Adam. He saved my life." _

_Adam put his gun back into his holster and said. "Thanks for bringing her back to us."_

_Just then they heard hoof beats coming from behind the man "Get her out of here! They'll kill her if they find her." The man said as he drew his own gun. _

_Adam picked Jane up, looked back at the man and rode off._

_Jane was asleep by the time they got back to the Ponderosa. Joe met them at the door and when he saw Jane, he picked her up from the horse and held her close._

"_She's Ok, Joe. She's just tired." Adam said as he read Joe's thoughts._

_Jane woke up, looked at Joe and hugged him tightly. "I never thought I'd get to see you again." she said as tears started to run down her cheeks._

_Joe took her in the house and put her in bed, thinking about what kind of suffering she went through._


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

_Later that night Jane woke up screaming from a nightmare, Joe heard her and went into her room where he heard her saying "Not Joe or any of the Cartwrights, kill me!" _

_Joe went over to her bed and sat down on the bed next to her "Do you want to talk about it?"_

_Jane started to cry. "They were going to kill you, Ben, Adam and Hoss. I couldn't let them do that." she said as she sobbed into Joe's arms. _

_Joe stroked her back and let her cry. He then pushed her away from him after a few minutes and said. "I think it's time for you to start calling me Pa, and Ben will become your grandpa, and Adam and Hoss will be your uncles. That is if you want to."_

_Jane's hazel eyes looked into Joe's green eyes and the tears started to flow again. "I'd like that very much, Pa."_

_Just then they heard a shot from outside Jane's window. Joe rushed down the stairs with his family right behind him. "Where did the shot come from?" Ben asked as they reached landing of the stairs._

"_I don't know, Pa." Joe said. _

_**Adam decided to go and take a look to see if he could find anything to help figure out where or who did the shooting. When he came back in, he found Joe and Jane sitting in the red chair by the fire. When she saw Adam, Jane got up and ran over to him.**_

_**Adam picked her up and held as he walked to the settee and sat down with Jane in his lap. "I didn't find anything." he reported to his brother. "Where's Pa and Hoss?" He asked as he just noticed that they weren't there.**_

"_**They decided to go back to bed. They decided that it wasn't going to do any good looking for things in the dark." Joe said as he took Jane from his brother's lap. "Come on little lady. It's time to go back to bed yourself."**_

_**Jane shook her head and clung onto Joe's shirt. "I'm scared to go back to sleep, Pa."**_

_**Joe held her close. "Is that dream still bothering you?" he asked.**_

_**Jane nodded. Joe laughed. "Don't worry. It was just a dream." he said as he carried her upstairs.**_

_**Adam watched Joe as he put Jane back in bed. "Did I hear Jane right when she called you Pa?"**_

_**Joe looked at the little girl and nodded. "Yeah I told her she could. I also told her that she could call Pa Grandpa, and you and Hoss uncles. Is that ok with you?"**_

_**Adam laughed and slapped his youngest brother's back. "You bet it is." he said as they walked out of the room and went into their own rooms.**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**The next morning Jane woke up before anyone else did. She went out to the barn and decided to do some chores for her family. **

**Hoss was in his room when he heard noises coming from the barn, so he got out of bed and went to the barn and found Jane mucking out the stalls. "What are you doing out here?" he asked as he continued to watch her.**

**Jane jumped at the sound of Hoss's voice. "Uncle Hoss. You scared me. I had no idea that you were out here." she said as she picked the pitchfork that she dropped and continued to work.**

**Hoss grabbed the pitchfork. "You didn't answer **

**Jane looked at her uncle. "I decided to be nice and do some chores for you. I have to do something to earn my keep around here."**

**Hoss picked her up. "You don't have to worry about that. We're going to love you just as much as if you were born into the family. Did Joe say that you could call me uncle?"**

"**Yes he did. I wasn't sure whether or not Pa talked to you or not, so I decided to call you it and hoped for the best."**

**Hoss looked at Jane and carried her inside the house. When he walked in the house he went to Joe and said. "Joe, are you really sure that you want to adopt Jane?" he asked as Jane ran into the living room.**

**Joe looked at Hoss and then at Jane. "I'm 100% sure. I already told her that she could call you guys Uncle and Grandpa and me Pa. It'd be a shame if we turn away now."**

**Ben looked at the little girl that was playing in the living room "If you are willing to adopt her Joe, I think it's time to tell her and it's time to get the lawyer out here."**

**Joe went over to Jane and said. "Jane, I asked you earlier if you'd wanted to live with us. I want to know if you would consider becoming part of the family as my daughter."**

**Jane looked up at Joe and his family and said. "I want to."**

**Joe and Hoss hollered with Joy as Adam picked Jane up and hugged her. **

**Just as they started to celebrate, there was a knock on the door. Adam opened the door to reveal a man dressed in a black suit and tie. He walked in, looked at Jane and then at the Cartwrights. "Here you are, Jane." he said as he looked once again at Jane.**

**As Joe watched Jane cower at the sight of this man, he walked over to him and said. "Excuse me, but who exactly are you?"**

**The man looked at Joe and said. "My name is Brad Miller, and Jane is my daughter.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The Cartwrights looked at the man in the door and then at the girl cowering behind the couch. There was silence in the room until Ben cleared his throat. "Won't you come in and sit down, Mr. Miller? We can talk about Jane."

Brad thanked him and they all sat down with Jane sitting next to Joe. "How did my daughter end up living with you?"

Joe looked at his father and then said. "I was riding, looking for strays when I came across the wagon and found her shot. I figured I couldn't leave her there, so I put her on my horse and brought her here to the house."

Brad then looked at Jane "What happened to your Ma?"

Jane started to cry as she remembered the horror that she had gone through. "She was killed in the accident that Joe found me in."

Joe put a protective arm around Jane and said. "I wish that you hadn't brought it up. She just got over it a few days ago."

Brad then looked at the time. "I guess that we should get going."

Joe also looked at the clock and said. "What about you stay here the night and then you can leave in the morning."

Brad that it was a good idea and went to bed.

As Joe helped Jane get ready to bed he saw that she was crying "I don't want to leave you Pa. I want to stay here with you."

Joe hugged her. "I want you to stay here too. But your father is here. So I think that it would be better if you went with him and call us by our first name."

While they were talking Brad was listening outside the door. _How can I take her away from the man that she's attached to. I guess that I've been gone to long. Plus with her Mother dead, she's got to be with someone that she trusts. _he thought as he headed down the stairs and started to pack.

When Brad got downstairs, he saw Ben setting on the couch. "Mr. Cartwright, I need to talk to you about Jane. I've been away from her too long and it looks like Jane trusts you and your family. So I'm going to let her stay with you."

Ben couldn't believe what he just heard, "Are you sure about Jane. I mean she is your daughter and not Joe's."

Brad sighed. "Yes. As much as I'll miss her, the only thing that I want for her is happiness. And the best way that could happen is if she stays here. I don't want your son or Jane to know that until tomorrow morning. I'm going to leave tonight."

Ben and Brad shook hands, and Brad went to pack and left.

As Ben watched Brad go, he couldn't wait to tell Joe that had happened. So he went to bed with a smile on his face.

**A/N: I'm sorry for the wait. Here's for you readers who wanted Jane to stay with Joe. What should happen next?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Jane woke up the next morning and started to pack.

As Ben watched her pack, he couldn't stand the look on her face. "Jane, you don't have to pack."

Jane looked at Ben. "What do you mean?"

Before Ben could answer, Joe ran in the room "Hey Pa, I went in to check on Mr. Miller to tell him that breakfast was ready and he wasn't there."

Jane rushed down the stairs and went down to see for herself.

While Jane was downstairs, Joe looked at his father. "Why did he go, Pa? I thought that he was going to take Jane with him."

Ben sighed "He was. But he watched Jane and the way that we acted towards her and he decided to leave her here with us."

"What? I can't believe that he really would do that. I mean I thought that he loved her." Joe said as they went down the stairs.

"He does loves her. That's why he's doing it." Ben replied as they sat down at the table.

Adam and Hoss came down and were surprised to see that Joe was already awake.

"You're up so soon?" Adam asked as he sat down

"Yeah. I thought that I was going to lose my daughter today. But I'm not." Joe replied.

Hoss and Adam looked at each other. "Why not?" Hoss asked as he started to fill his plate.

"Mr. Miller decided that it was best if Jane lived with us." Ben said as he also filled his plate.

"But why?" Jane asked.

"He watched the way that we acted toward each other that he decided that it was better if he left her here. He told me this himself before he left last night." Ben said as he looked at his family.

Jane was trying to wrap her head around what was happening, but she didn't know what to say so she kept quiet.

Adam noticed that Jane was quiet so he said. "Why are you quiet. I thought that you'd be happy with your dad's choice to leave you here." he said as he took a bite of food.

"I am. I'm just can't believe that I'm finally going to belong to you." Jane replied as she ate the last bit of her breakfast.

Ben knew that it was going to be hard for her to adjust to finally be a Cartwright, but he knew with his family helping she'd get used to it. He then turned to his sons. "Even though we are happy about finally getting to adopt Jane. The ranch isn't going to run itself."

Joe groaned "Aw Pa. Do I really have to work on the ranch today? I wanted to get to know Jane better."

Adam looked at his pa and then at his youngest brother. "Joe, Pa worked on this ranch when we were little. So if he can go to work, with a little kid around, you can."

Joe looked at his brother. "I know. But I hate to leave her alone."

Ben looked at Joe. "She won't be alone, Joe. Hop-sing will be with her. And just as he took care of you boys. He can take care of Jane."

Jane looked at her new family and smiled. "You should listen to Grandpa, Pa. I don't think that you'd like to be turned over his knee for arguing with him."

The four Cartwrights laughed at the thought of Joe over Ben's knee. "I could do it too." Ben said.

As they walked out side, Hop-sing came out with food for the Cartwrights. "Don't worry about little girl. Hop-sing will take care of her."

Joe smiled at the Chinese cook. "Thank you. Hop-sing." He then leaned down to hug Jane. "You be a good girl and listen to Hop-sing."

Jane hugged Joe back. "I will Pa. And you quit arguing with Grandma."

Joe laughed and ruffled Jane's hair lightly. The rest of the Cartwrights hugged Jane before they mounted their horses and rode away, with Jane waving by.

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I've had writing block along with working on 2 other stories. Please review! Any helpful hints on how this story should progress is more than welcome!**


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